While the little booklet that came with this
deck was OK as these things go, I had looked forward to getting
the full book written for this deck. Julia Turk's deck is
obviously based on the Qabala, but how much so? Why did she
change the assignments that she did? Why did she change the order
of the Majors? These questions are answered in this book.

Part One: The Navigators of the Mystic Sea,
begins by providing some background information on the Hermetic
Cabala. She provides some Tarot basics - 78 cards, four suits
etc. She then explains that she has changed some of the Hebrew
letter assignments, the order of the Major Arcana, and her
reasoning for starting her path working at the bottom sphere of
the Tree. A brief outline of what we will find in the remaining
chapters of the book is also provided here.

Part Two: The Pips, takes us through the Ten
through Ace of each suit. Each number is considered together,
from what Turk designates as the lowest to the highest, i.e., we
start with the Ten of Pentacles, which Turk designates as the
lowest card in the decks, and go through the Ten of Swords, Cups,
etc., etc., till the Ace of Wands. The discussion of each set
number begins by listing its sphere on the Tree of Life and a
list of correspondences for that sphere, including Appropriate
Words, Planets, Rulers, Colors, Metals, Gemstones, Plants,
Animals and Key Words. Next is a discussion of the card itself,
beginning with the Keyword, followed by a brief statement. This
is followed by a longer discussion of the card, which usually
describes the symbolism and Turk's thoughts on the cards. There
is no separate divinatory meaning listed, rather the discussion
of the card contains the meaning.

Part Three: The Court Cards, starts with an
explanation of Turk's views on the court cards and the types of
people that they represent. Commonalties are described here as
well. For example: "All Pages are androgynous have
one foot on a particular spot and are moving forward have
left something material behind them ." The descriptions
of the individual cards provide the elemental correspondences, a
key word, and an I-Ching hexagram. This is followed by a
statement about the cards and a description, like the section for
the pips. Turk assigns physical descriptions to each card as
well, including build, complexion, hair and eye color.

Part Four: The Major Arcana begins with a
review of Turk's thoughts on the pips and court card which leads
us into her ideas about the Majors. She describes certain Major
Arcana cards as representing specific functions. For example she
see the card "Destiny" as representative of the
personality. She also views the Major Arcana on the Tree of Life
as passages from one state of being to another. This section is
followed by a discussion of each card in relation to its path on
the Tree of Life. The "traditional" path is given,
followed by Turk's assignments. For example: Sun - Traditional
Tarot: Yesod to Hod, Navigators Tarot: Malkuth to Hod. Turk
explains the reasoning behind the assignment. In the case of the
Sun, she felt it was important to balance it with the Moon.
Following these explanations we find the individual meanings for
each card. Turks starts with the Universe and begins each card by
providing some Qabalistic correspondences and the key words
assigned to the card. This is followed by a statement that sets
the mood for the card. A divinatory meaning is proved next,
followed by a section called "Commentary," which
describes the card and provides Ms. Turk's thoughts on the card.
Each of the Majors is described in this manner.

I definitely recommend this book for those who
use this deck. It is clearly written and provides a great deal of
insight into Ms. Turk's ideas. This is not what I would call a
"light read." Turk provides a lot more detail than we
usually see in books of this type. Because her deck is based on
the Qabala, some knowledge of that subject would be helpful as
well.